Since joining the Tango Café in April 2022, Chef Jonathan Martinez has been aiming to create a space “every walk of life” can enjoy. 

The Tango Café faces Main Street in Hurleyville and offers a quiet and relaxed setting with an outdoor dining patio with Adirondack chairs and firepits for diners to enjoy, Martinez explained. Martinez is the executive chef of the Hurleyville café and brings over 25 years of professional experience to his role.

Martinez explained that his parents immigrated to the United States from Colombia and worked in ho-tels in Sullivan County while he was growing up. This started his passion for food and knowledge in the restaurant industry. Martinez said he was not classically trained but worked with many talented chefs that took him under their wings while he worked his way up in the restaurant world. 

Martinez also served in Iraq as an infantryman and now is a combat veteran. He found his place in the kitchen due to the discipline, attention to detail, and high-pressure environment required.

Additionally, Martinez worked as an executive sous chef for twelve years before reopening The Last Licks sandwich shop in Liberty. The shop was award-winning, but Martinez explained that he had to adapt due to the pandemic and transferred over to a food truck and catering. 

However, when the Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre approached him with a vision, he explained that the timing was right to go back to a fully staffed brick-and-mortar restaurant. The Tango Café supports the Arts Centre and its programs. 

Martinez recounted a Star Wars scene where the main characters enter a bar and see all types of creatures and beings enjoying the space together. This is the vision that they are aiming to create with the Tango Café. 

“The Tango Café was inspired by the ballroom dance and the sensitive physical communication required between partners,” Martinez said. He explained that the Tango is a beautiful, exciting dance that can sometimes be rebellious, and he is trying to step out with bold flavors that dance in people’s mouths. He said he designs his menu with worldly flavors, contemporary methods, and underutilized ingredients. He describes his cooking as classic comfort foods with a modern twist. For example, Martinez serves a soup of the day. He said he keeps his parents’ recipes in mind since his father used to make soups all the time. 

“A good soup makes you sweat,” Martinez remembered his father telling him, so Martinez keeps his Hispanic and family influences in mind but works to use locally sourced ingredients in his recipes for different flavors. 

Martinez said he also aims to care for all dietary needs by offering gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian options. The grain bowl is a way for Martinez to “tango” with ingredients while being health conscious since he noted that Sullivan County had been rated the second unhealthiest county in New York State. Martinez said he keeps the community’s needs in mind when it comes to preferences, price, and health needs. 

Martinez  attributes his success to his hard work ethic, which he earned from his parents. As a first-generation Hispanic, his family and culture heavily influence him. Martinez also noted that Anthony Bourdain said once that people always see high-end chefs’ names without realizing that Hispanics are always cooking and working behind those names. Martinez said he always worked behind the scenes until he got the chance to showcase his food. 

“Culinary is an art, and today’s innovation is tomorrow’s tradition,” Martinez said.